Saturday 31 March 2018

New Video For The Sector One Track "Telecommunication"

We are delighted to present the promo video for the Sector One track "Telecommunication" by Gary Hunter.



This is the title track from the new Sector One album "Telecommunication".


Heavily influenced by Kraftwerk this album is a stunning piece of work.

The album is available as a Digital Download in various formats from Bandcamp, the release also includes the promo video of "Telecommunication". It has been released on the Plonk Music label.

Find out more about Sector One here
Find out more about the Plonk Music label here 
You can read a full review on the album by the Brighton And Hove Newspaper here

Friday 30 March 2018

Day 30 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 30

Our final selection in our favourite 80s 12 Inch Vinyl Singles, next week we will be releasing a 2 part show counting down our chart for the Top 30 Vinyl 80s 12 Inch Singles.

Please not the records are not in the order of how we have featured them on our blog, so it will be a nice surprise to hear our countdown!


The Assembly - Never Never (Extended Version)

If there is one person that has a profound effect on me where music is concerned, it has to be Vince Clarke, a genius at creating catchy, melodic synthpop songs.

It is no surprise to see Vince featured with 3 tracks in this Top 30 feature, with 3 separate projects, Yazoo, Erasure and the short lived The Assembly.

The Assembly only released one single and that is the achingly beautiful “Never Never”, which features Feargal Sharkey on vocals, a perfect partnership for this particular track. Again I think this is another timeless masterpiece, still refreshing to listen to after all these years. A perfect blend of electronics and acoustic guitar, something Vince is very good at.

The A Side features an extender version of “Never Never”, which has a running time of nearly 6 minutes, whilst on the B Side, we have an extender version of the track “Stop/Start”, an instrumental gem, which features the Casio VL-Tone 1 calculator/music instrument, now seen as a classic little keyboard, I bought one when it came out and still have it!

The single was released in October 1983 and reached number 4 in the UK Singles chart.

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Never Never (Extended Version) 5:53
B1 Stop/Start (Extended Version) 4:22

You can actually get a used copy of the Vinyl 12 Inch Single from Amazon for just over £4, which is a bargain, it is available here:

Thursday 29 March 2018

Day 29 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 29


Heaven 17 - Let Me Go (12 Inch Extended Version)

Heaven 17 have always been a bit hit and miss for me, their debut album had some good songs on it, but the album “The Luxury Gap” was on another level, beautifully produced and quality tracks from start to finish, the jewel in the crown is undoubtedly the single “Let Me Go” and the 12 Inch Vinyl version extends the track perfectly, with that instantly recognizable Bass-Line, quite possibly one of the greatest ever Bass riffs from the 80s, it is what made the song.

The A Side of the vinyl 12 Inch featured the extended version of “Let Me Go”, which had a running time of just over 6 minutes, the B Side, disappointingly featured just an instrumental version of “Let Me Go”. They’ve never been a band that does proper B Sides for some strange reason.

It was released in 1982 and unbelievably only reached Number 41 in the UK Singles chart, which I find astounding. 

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Let Me Go (Extended Version) 6:14
B1 Let Me Go (Instrumental) 4:54

You can find the 12 Inch version of “Let Me Go” on this edition of “The Luxury Gap”, which also features some of the other 12 inch mixes that were released, for under £6 from Amazon here:

Wednesday 28 March 2018

Day 28 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 28


OMD - (Forever) Live And Die (Extended Mix)

OMD are one of my favourite bands of all time and their singles Discography is very impressive, out of nearly 40 singles released there are only, probably, 3 or 4 of them I dislike, so it was a very difficult choice to pick one 12 Inch Vinyl Single for this feature, “Tesla Girls”, “Secret” and “Dreaming” would all have been worthy of inclusion, but I have gone for the track “(Forever) Live And Die”, a track sung by Paul Humphreys.

I think this is a track that has firmly stood the test of time.

On the vinyl 12 Inch format, the A Side features an Extended Remix by Tom Lord-Alge which has a running time of almost 6 minutes. The B Side featured the 7 Inch version as well as the non album B side “This Town”, OMD have always featured excellent tracks as B Sides and “This Town” is no exception.

An interesting fact is that the original 12 Inch that was to be released and featured an extended mix by John Tokes" Potoker, but was withdrawn as the band didn’t like the mix, a few copies were sold by record shops, so if you have a copy, it is collectable, sadly I wasn’t one of the lucky ones to grab this Vinyl 12 Inch.

The single is taken from the disappointing album “The Pacific Age” and is undoubtedly the best track on the album, it was released in 1986 and reached Number 11 in the UK Singles chart, it also did well in America, reaching Number 19.
 

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 (Forever) Live And Die (Extended Remix) 5:50
B1 (Forever) Live And Die (7 Inch Version) 3:36
B2 This Town 3:44

You can actually get hold of a used copy of the Vinyl 12 Inch for under £5 from Amazon here

Tuesday 27 March 2018

Day 27 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 27


Tears For Fears - Pale Shelter (Extended Version)

The first 2 albums by Tears For Fears, “The Hurting” and “Songs From The Big Chair” were both solid albums, I didn’t like every track but when they hit form, boy were they good. I lost interest in their music when they released “Sowing The Seeds Of Love”. They are a band who have always been unsure what direction to take their music.

The singles released off “The Hurting” were brilliant, how “Suffer The Children” wasn’t a massive hit I will never know, “Mad World” was the first single of theirs I bought, that was followed by “Pale Shelter” and “Change”, surprised they never released a 12 Inch Mix of “Mad World”, I would have loved to hear that in extended format, they more than made up for it with the release of the 12 Inch of “Pale Shelter”, from the moment the intro of acoustic guitars starts this song develops superbly, a great mix of electronics and guitar.

What is interesting about this song is that it was originally released before it was a hit, the original version, was called, "Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)" and was released in 1982 but failed to chart.

The new re-recorded version was released in 1983 and reached Number 5 in the UK Singles Chart. The 12 Inch Vinyl Version featured an extended version of “Pale Shelter”, on the flip side was the album version of the track and and early version of “We Are Broken”, which would later appear on the album “Songs From The Big Chair”.

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Pale Shelter (New Extended Version) 6:41
B1 Pale Shelter (Album Version) 4:14
B2 We Are Broken 4:03

You can find the Extended Version of “Pale Shelter” on a special Edition of the album “The Hurting”, which is available from Amazon for under £6 here:

Monday 26 March 2018

Day 26 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 26


Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now (12 Inch Version)

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Thompson Twins as they released some excellent records in the 80s and had quite a unique sound.

Their albums “Quick Step & Side Kick” and “Into The Gap” are outstanding, both featuring fantastic singles including “Hold Me Now”, which is off the album “Into The Gap”. It is the bands biggest selling single.

The A Side of the single featured a glorious 10 minute extended version of “Hold Me Now”, on the B Side was an Extended version of “Let Loving Start”, which is in effect a strange “Dub Version”, not the best B Side I have heard and I have probably on ever played it once!

The single was released in November 1983 and reached Number 4 in the UK Singles chart and Number 3 in the US Billboard Top 100, where it remained in the chart for 21 weeks.

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Hold Me Now (Extended Version) 9:46
B1 Let Loving Start (Extended) 8:56

The Extended version of “Hold Me Now” is featured on an excellent 2CD set of Thompson Twins 12 Inch Singles and rarities from Amazon for just under £12 here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Remixes-Rarities-Collection-Classic-B-Sides/dp/B00M5AJBAI/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1521975402&sr=1-4&keywords=Thompson+Twins&dpID=513Cd1CfQFL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Day 25 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 25


Marc Almond - Only The Moment (All The Time In The World Mix)

Marc Almond’s solo career has at various stages gone under the radar, however, the recent “Trials Of Eyeliner” 10CD Box Set shows there is more to Marc Almond than Soft Cell. Over the last 4 decades he has released some outstanding singles, “My Hand Over My Heart” (A serious contender for being included in this feature), “Somethings ‘Gotten Hold Of My Heart”, “Tears Run Rings”, “Stories Of Johnny”, “The Days Of Pearly Spencer” to name just a few.

Believe me, choosing a Marc Almond solo 12 Inch Vinyl single was not an easy task and I have gone for one of his lesser known tracks “Only The Moment”, a searing ballad, something almond always excels in doing.

The 12 Inch version features an extended mix which runs for 6 ½ minutes, whilst on the B Side we have an extended version of the track “She Took My Soul In Istanbul”, which has a running time of nearly over 10 ½ minutes!

The single was released in 1989 and only made number 45 in the UK Singles Chart, it definitely deserved to do much better.

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Only The Moment (All The Time In The World Mix) 6:31
B1 She Took My Soul In Istanbul (The Blue Mosque Mix) 10:22

You can actually pick up this Vinyl 12 Inch from Amazon for just under £7, although that is for a used copy:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Only-Moment-Marc-Almond/dp/B004ET4JUA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1521580438&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=Marc+Almond+Only+The+Moment+%28All+The+Time+In+The+World

i-Select #33

This is a series of shows dedicated to electronic/synthpop bands that are unsigned, signed to a small independent label or self release their material.


White Lion Radio prides itself on bringing you music which you don't always get access to and to showcase bands and artists that are really very talented and deserve to be heard.

These shows will feature bands from across the globe!

Listen On Mixcloud

Listen On Hearthis.at

Full Playlist

Metroland - Pictures To Listen To
Rename - Not Just A Dream
Empathy Test - Kirrilee
Exciting Valence - Here I Am (Original Version)
Psy'Aviah Ft Ellia Bisker - Aftermath (People Theatre Remix)
Kevin Lux - Portal
Metroland - La Macchia D'Acqua
Vogon Poetry - Tomorrow (Glenn Main Remix)
Eurotix - Conquer The Universe
nTTx - Straight Up Beaver Time
Rename - You Don't Deserve My Love
Maschine Brennt - The Rhythm Of The Beat
Unisonlab - Stereolab (Gary Hunter's 7 Inch Radio Edit)
Empathy Test - Holding On
Kevin Lux - Ghosts
We Are Temporary - Universe
Vogon Poetry - Serenity
Rodney Cromwell - Comrades
CTRL - Tense
Sector One - Telecommunication
Metroland - Proiezione 41-828

Sunday 25 March 2018

Day 24 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 24


Ultravox - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (Special Remix)

I’m a massive fan of the Midge Ure era of Ultravox, the album “Vienna” is one of my all time favourite albums, other albums have been brilliant also, including “Lament”, the album, which the single “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” is taken.

This single had a brilliant video as well, the video is about a nuclear power plant meltdown. The music video depicts Midge Ure driving home after discovering that a nuclear explosion is imminent. The video ends with the power plant exploding, and the image of a home movie of Ure, his wife and their child, with the visual effect of a melting film.

The video did its job as the single made number 3 in the UK singles chart in 1984 and the top 10 in various other European countries.

The vinyl 12 inch is brilliant as it features a 10 minute long Special Re-Mix of the song, undoubtedly one of the defining moments in the history of Ultravox. The B Side of the 12 Inch version, featured the 7 inch version and the non album track “Building”, which is a below par track if i’m honest.

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (Special Re-Mix) 10:02
B1 Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (7 Inch Version) 4:07
B2 Building 3:10

Both the 12 Inch Version and 7 Inch Version of “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” can be found on the 2CD Edition of the album “Lament” for just over £10 from Amazon here:

Friday 23 March 2018

Day 23 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 23


Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel - White Lines (Don't Do It) (12 Inch Version)

Without doubt one of THE best Rap/Hip Hop records ever released, still sounds fresh when you hear it today and still carries a powerful message about drug use, a Phenomenal record. 

The vinyl 12 inch featured an extended cut of the track, running at over 7 ½ minutes and it packs a punch, on the flip side of the vinyl 12 inch are 3 tracks, White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) (Bonus), White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) (Bonus Break) and White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) (Short Version).

The single was released in 1983 and peaked at number 7 in the UK Singles chart, spending 17 consecutive weeks in the top 40. It was the 13th best-selling single of 1984 in the UK, selling more than several number one hits that year.

In 1995 Duran Duran recorded a cover version of the track.........and murdered it!!

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 White Lines (Don't Do It) (12 Inch Version) 7:38
B1 White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) (Bonus) 2:16
B2 White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) (Bonus Break) 2:34
B3 White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) (Short Version) 4:10

The Extended version of “White Lines” can be found on this compilation, available on Amazon at under £9:

Day 22 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 22


The Stranglers - Skin Deep (Extended Version)

Now I am not a fan of The Stranglers, however, I think the singles “Skin Deep” and “Always The Sun” are class records. The 12 Inch of “Skin Deep” I heard in HMV on one of my daily visits to the store in Manchester, I had started a studio electronic band with a mate of mine and couldn’t think of a name for the project and heard this track being played and straight away I thought of using the name “Skin Deep”, naturally I then purchased the Vinyl 12 Inch of the track!

So it was quite by accident that I bought this 12 Inch Single, I’m glad I did as it is a superb extended version of the song and another record that was brilliantly produced and mixed, it sounded really good on my sound system. 7 Minutes plus of total quality – The Stranglers doing pure pop, who would have ever imagined that!

The 12 Inch had 2 B Sides “Here and There” and “Vladimir And The Beast (Part III)”, both standard versions, the latter being an exclusive track on the 12 Inch.

It was released in October 1984 and reached Number 15 in the UK Singles chart (It deserved to do better).

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Skin Deep (Extended Version) 7:12
B1 Here and There 4:21
B2 Vladimir And The Beast (Part III) 3:55

The Extended Version of “Skin Deep” is available as a Digital Download from Amazon for 99p here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skin-Deep-Extended-Version/dp/B01L0ZG5G6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1520347593&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Stranglers+Skin+Deep+Extended

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Day 21 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 21


Visage - Visage (Dance Mix) 12 Inch

Visage were the ultimate New Romantic Super group, featuring Midge Ure (Ultravox), Rusty Egan (Rich Kids), Steve Strange, Billy Currie (Ultravox), John McGeoch, Dave Formula and Barry Adamson (All from the band Magazine).

I hated the first Visage single “Tar”, then they released “Fade To Grey”, a key fixture on 80s compilations these days, following that, they released “Mind Of A Toy”, one of my favourite Visage tracks. It was the 4th single, the self titled “Visage” that really blew me away, especially the vinyl 12 Inch Dance Mix, the drums on the track were outstanding, the 12 inch sounded better produced and the mix was miles better than the album version.

Another 12 Inch single I had on heavy rotation in the 80s.

The Dance Mix had a running time of 6 minutes, there was just one track on the B Side of the 12 Inch, which was the disappointing instrumental “Second Steps”

The single “Visage” was released in June 1981 and reached Number 21 in the UK Singles Chart.

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Visage (Dance Mix) 6:01
B1 Second Steps 5:30

The original 12 Inch vinyl of “Visage” can be purchased from Amazon, but it will set you back £17:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/VISAGE-visage-dance-second-single/dp/B0791FLHY5/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1520346530&sr=1-4&keywords=Visage+Visage+Dance+Mix

Tuesday 20 March 2018

Day 20 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 20


Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes (Annihilation 12 Inch)

What a massive release this was in the 80s, they actually released 3 different 12 Inch Singles, I have the Annihilation 12 Inch and the Carnage 12 Inch on vinyl.

The video promo for the single was genius as it featured lookalikes of US President Regan and Russian Soviet leader  Konstantin Chernenko wrestling in a ring.

In the days when video jukeboxes were big in pubs and clubs this video got played more than any other.

The Two Tribes (Annihilation 12 Inch) is a brilliant longer version of the song, running for over 9 minutes, fantastic production by Trevor Horn, which rightly make this a classic 80s 12 Inch Single.

On the B Side are 3 tracks, a cover of “War (Hide Yourself)”, “One February Friday”, which is actually a short interview between Paul Morley and the group's three musicians, Mark O'Toole, Brian Nash and Peter Gill, over an otherwise untitled instrumental track and “Two Tribes (Surrender)”.

This 12 inch got played to death on my record deck, a record with attitude is how I would sum it up.

The single was released in June 1984, the 12 Inch releases were staggered and that helped ensure the single stayed at Number 1 in the UK Singles chart for 9 weeks! It was the longest running number-one single in the UK of the 1980s.

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Two Tribes (Annihilation 12 Inch) 9:07
B1 War (Hide Yourself) 4:16
B2 One February Friday 1:45
B3 Two Tribes (Surrender) 4:55

The 12 Inch Annihilation Version and a version of the track “War” can be found on the album “Frankie Said”, which is available for just over £5 on Amazon here:

Monday 19 March 2018

Day 19 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 19


Howard Jones - Hide & Seek (Long Version)

All 4 of the singles released off the album “Human’s Lib” by Howard Jones were excellent, although “What Is Love?” and “Hide And Seek” are my personal favourites. Indeed, it was a difficult decision  which of these tracks would feature in my selection. I decided on “Hide And Seek” as I think it is one of the greatest electronic ballads ever released in the 1980s.

The track was released in February 1984 and was the 3rd single released off Howard’s debut album. The 12 Inch Vinyl version is just wonderful, achingly beautiful and haunting, the pads and strings are devine, making it almost sound ambient, a brilliant song. The 12 inch version is 8 ½ minutes long and it holds your attention throughout. I was disappointed with both the B Sides, “"Tao Te Ching"” and “China Dance”, both very weak tracks by Howards standards, I have probably only ever played those one or twice!

“Hide And Seek” reached Number 12 in the UK Singles Chart, I’m sure with better B Sides it would definitely have made the Top 10.

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 Hide And Seek (Long Version) 8:30
B1 Tao Te Ching 3:52
B2 China Dance 3:50

You will find the Long Version of “Hide And Seek” on the Remastered Edition of the album “Action Replay”, which is available from Amazon here:

The Electronic Music Hour #33

Welcome to edition #33 of our series "The Electronic Music Hour", which features some of the best electronic and synthpop music from the last 40 years.


These shows not only include well known artists from the last 4 decades but new and emerging bands on the electronic music scene from around the world, a lot of which are either unsigned, or on a small independent label, or self release their material.

So the shows will feature old and new tracks that fit in the electronic/synthpop genre.

Listen On Mixcloud

Listen On Hearthis.at

Playlist:

Electronic - The Patience Of A Saint
Rational Youth - Western man
Bimbo Boy - Drama Queen (Champagne Synth Remix)
Thompson Twins - Love On Your Side
Vanguard - I Want To Live
John Foxx - Cinemascope
Daily Planet - Set Me Free
Blancmange - Waves (Original Album Version)
Vision Talk - Come With Me
Book Of Love - Something Good
OMD - Speed Of Light
The Silicon Teens - Oh Boy
Assemblage 23 - December
Carved Souls - In A Blink
Pet Shop Boys - Twenty Something

Sunday 18 March 2018

Day 18 - White Lion Radio's Favourite Vinyl 12 Inch Singles From The 80s

Day 18.....


Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin (Disco Mix)

I have more vinyl,CD’s & Singles of the Pet Shop Boys than any other band, when they burst on to the scene in 1985 with the Number 1 hit “West End Girls”, I have pretty much bought everything they have released, except for the album “Electric”, which is their worst album by a country mile.

The boys came back with a bang after the disappointing chart positions for “Love Comes Quickly” (Number 19) and “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) (Number 11), although the fourth single off “Please”, “Suburbia” did fair better reaching number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. When they released “It’s A Sin”, it was a track they had already written when they made their first album “Please” and was the lead single off the follow-up album “Actually”. A fantastic sequence driven 12 inch version is one of their best 12 inch cuts, certainly one of my favourite 12 Inch Singles by the band.

The Disco Mix has a running time of just under 8 minutes and sees the song, in a way, split in half, with the first half mainly instrumental and the latter being the main element of the song. It was released in June 1987 and reached Number 1 for 3 weeks in the UK Singles Chart and enjoyed massive success across Europe.

The Vinyl 12 Inch Single also features the non album track “You Know Where You Went Wrong”, the same as the version on the B side of the 7 Inch Single, as well as the single version of “It’s A Sin”.

12 INCH VINYL TRACK LISTING

A1 It’s A Sin (Disco Mix) 7:39
B1 You Know Where You Went Wrong 5:51
B2 It’s A Sin (7 Inch Version)

All the tracks featured on the Vinyl 12 Inch are available in the new 2CD Edition of “Actually”, that has just been re-released, as is available for Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Actually-Further-Listening-1987-1988/dp/B077Y2K5RF/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1520017071&sr=1-5&keywords=Pet+Shop+Boys